Relatively compact-size transportable image forming apparatuses, which are often for personal use, are placed on a desk or the like when used only and are stored beside a side face of the desk or the like when not used. In general, transportable image forming apparatuses have a smaller dimension in height relative to the width and the depth, and such transportable image forming apparatuses are often stored bringing a side face of the apparatus into contact with a horizontal plane such as a floor so that the upper face and the bottom face of the apparatus become vertical. Transportable image forming apparatuses are further provided with a handle for grasping on one side face in order to facilitate the transportation between the storage position and the usage position. Since such a handle is grasped only during transportation of a transportable imaging forming apparatus, the handle is configured to be retractable so as not to become an obstacle to user's operations during use.
Especially an imaging forming apparatus with a copy function is provided with a rotatable document cover so as to open/close a document platen at a top face of the case. In such a transportable imaging forming apparatus equipped with a copy function, unless the rotation of the document cover is limited when the apparatus is made vertical for storage and transportation, the document cover may be broken because it interferes with user's body, a desk or the like. Even a transportable image forming apparatus not equipped with a copy function may include a case made up of a plurality of separate parts that are mutually rotatable with consideration given to the maintenability, and includes a sheet feeding tray and a sheet output tray that are allowed to be exposed from the case when used. With this configuration, when the case of the apparatus is made vertical for storage or transportation and if one part of the case is rotated about the other part or the sheet feeding tray or the sheet output tray is rotated about the case, a similar problem will occur.
To cope with such problems of the transportable image forming apparatuses, an apparatus configured to limit the movement of a document cover operatively in association with a handle operation (see Patent Literature 1, for example), an apparatus configured to let a sheet output tray stored operatively in association with a change of the posture of a case due to a handle operation (see Patent Literature 2, for example) and an apparatus configured to limit the movement of a document cover by a sheet output tray (see Patent Literature 3, for example) are conventionally proposed, for example.